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The Joy Trip Project

Capital Region Business Journal, Magazines / 08.06.2009

Team-Joy-TripThere’s a fabulous business over in the Allied Drive community, just south of the Belt Line Highway called Dream Bikes. What’s really amazing about this little company is that it combines just about everything that The Joy Trip Project is all about. Supported by Trek Bicycle, Dream Bikes gets low-income families and individuals into the sport of cycling while providing practical job skills training. Young people from this economically challenged part of town not only get access to gainful employment, but they’re exposed to a healthy lifestyle activity that lets them enjoy recreation time outdoors. Working in conjunction with the Boy & Girls Club of Dane County, Dream Bikes provides both its customers and employees with exercise and non-polluting, sustainable transportation to school, work and play. A micro-lending program offers free financing toward to purchase of a bike for those with limited ability to pay. And because they specialize in used bicycles, the company helps to recycle and repurpose old equipment that might otherwise be left to rust in dusty basements or worse area landfills. Dream Bikes offers a great community service.
Commentary / 07.06.2009

I’d been feeling inadequate. In my wanderings through the twitterverse it had become clear to me that I just didn’t measure up.  Out there were tweeters far more potent than I am with big followings. I had twitter envy. Tweeters with followings of 22,000 or more were making time with huge audiences of twitterotti. And all those tweetile enhancement posts just made me feel all the more self-conscious and insecure. “Want to grow your following? We can help.” “Grow your following and extend your reach. It’s easy.” “Like to have a bigger following every morning when you get up? Let us show you the way.” They say the first step in finding a solution is realizing that you have a problem. “My name is James. And I have a small following.” Hey, tweetile dysfunction is nothing to laugh at. Your ability to tweet effectively defines who you are in the world of online media. Earlier this week I approached a major product manufacturer in the hopes that they might sponsor my blog. When the director of public relations asked, “So how big is your following?” I immediately changed the subject too embarrassed to answer. “It’s OK,” she said. “It happens to everyone.” The size of your following ultimately determines whether or not people will take you seriously. Your following is crucial if you expect more people to view and pass along your messages. It was obvious to me that if I was going be an engaging and compelling producer of new media I had to invest in tweetile augmentation.
Breaking News / 07.06.2009

  [caption id="attachment_92" align="alignleft" width="117"] Jonny Copp[/caption] Boulder, CO—The body found in avalanche debris at 4000 meters on Mount Edgar (6818 meters/22,368 feet), China, has been positively identified as Jonathan “Jonny” Copp, age 35 of Boulder, CO. “Our deepest condolences and love go to all of Jonny’s family and friends—and that list of people is so long. He will be sorely missed, but we celebrate his inspiring and amazing life,” says Robb Shurr, spokesperson for the search effort.    ...

Uncategorized / 06.06.2009

  [caption id="attachment_93" align="alignleft" width="117" caption="Micah Dash"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_92" align="alignleft" width="117" caption="Jonny Copp"][/caption] [caption id="attachment_91" align="alignleft" width="117" caption="Wade Johnson"][/caption]                BEIJING (AP) --   The body of an American mountain climber has been found after an avalanche in an isolated part of southwestern China, the official Xinhua News Agency said Saturday. Rescue workers were still searching for two other American members of the group who went missing on Mount Gongga in Sichuan province, Li Zhixin, an official with the Chinese Mountaineering Association, told Xinhua. The report did not identify whose body had been found. Wade Johnson,...

Uncategorized / 05.06.2009

Colorado Independent Obama-era economic policy so far has not prominently featured the nation’s farm country. But that’s changing. Policy being weighed now in Washington concerning ethanol will have a major impact in states like Colorado, home to Yuma County, one of the most efficient corn-growing regions in the country and a major producer of the biofuel. As debate over ethanol heats up, the path the Obama Administration is steering looks to be exactly the kind of middle-way, practical political tack that chagrins progressives, in this case energy analysts and environmentalists who...

Uncategorized / 03.06.2009

  [caption id="attachment_45" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Tom Coyle keeping our bike paths graffiti free. He's The Tagenator"][/caption]     Graffiti is one of those things you expect to see in any modern city. Madison, Wisconsin is no exception. But on the Capital City Trail it’s disappointing to see these foolish expressions of adolescent anxiety along this paved scenic path designated for bikes and pedestrians. Finishing my run this morning I came across a tag in purple spray paint that bisected the yellow line in clear view of traffic in both directions. An amateur...